Russians in Sochi Can't Live Down Lake Placid

The 34-Year-Old 'Miracle on Ice' Looms Large in a News Conference, Plus Other Dispatches

Forget the Many Other Times When We Destroyed You

The Russians in Sochi can't live down memories of a 34-year-old miracle.

The Soviet Union's loss to an underdog Team USA at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics loomed large as Russia's men's hockey squad met the media for the first time on Tuesday in a news conference attended by virtually the whole team, as well as a standing-room-only crowd of reporters.

Asked about the significance of that game, Russian Ice Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretiak first reminded the several hundred journalists in attendance that the "Miracle on Ice" represented a brief interlude in decades of Soviet hockey dominance.

"I want to say that in '84 we fixed our mistake and again became Olympic champions," Tretiak said, to applause from the Russian press corps.

Tretiak, who was back then the Soviet Union's star goaltender, was famously pulled from the net by coach Viktor Tikhonov in the first period of that game. On Tuesday, Mr. Tretiak went on to try to put a positive spin on the repercussions of the loss.

Health Worker to Sochi Locals: You Don't Look a Day Over 82

The Olympics are supposed to inspire people to shape up and go for their inner gold, right?

In Russia, maybe not quite. A quarter of men here die before they are 55, according to a study in the Lancet journal, largely from drinking too much vodka. More than 60% of Russian men and 22% of Russian women over 15 smoke, according to the World Health Organization.

Stats like those are precisely what has prompted a local organization called "Choice" to set up a health expo on a sidewalk in downtown Sochi during the Games. "What is your bio-age? Find out today," reads a banner advertising the event.

Dozens of Russians were having their height, weight and blood pressure measured on Monday afternoon as part of the free program. They stepped up and down repeatedly on a stool while a volunteer monitored their heart rates.

At the end of the line, a volunteer entered all participants' measurements into a computer program, which spit out the age their bodies really are.

"For me it's probably 90," Inna Tishkova, a 68-year-old doctor, said as she waited with her husband for her results. "I'm healthy but overweight."

Sure enough, the computer said she should be 82. As for her husband, Eduard, a 77-year-old retired nuclear submarine commander, the computer said he should be 79. "You should stop drinking alcohol," said the volunteer who gave him his results.

"Give up beer?" Mr. Tishkov said. "What are you trying to suggest?"

—Betsy McKay

Even This Move's Name Has A High Degree of Difficulty

At Wednesday's ski slopestyle competition, American and medal favorite Nick Goepper will perform a trick that has the sport's insiders buzzing. In it, he launches himself backward off a snowy ramp, does two flips and 2½ spins simultaneously while crossing his skis and grabbing one of them from behind—all before straightening out and landing.

He calls it the Switch Double Rodeo 900 Screamin' Seaman. But who was the original Screamin' Seaman? Some people—including Goepper—believe it is named for Chris Seemann, a coach of the U.S. freestyle ski team and a former competitor in the event of aerials, in which skiers do flipping, twisting tricks off one giant jump. But Coach Seemann said the trick was actually named after another man with a similar name.

That would be Curt Seaman, a pro freestyle skier in the 1970s. Seaman, reached by phone at his home in Fairbanks, Alaska, had heard that young skiers had adopted and updated the Screamin' Seaman but didn't know that it had become the staple of an Olympian. "He's going to get a lot of high scores if he's throwing those," Seaman said. "That's really cool."

—Rachel Bachman

Costas's Eye Infection Finally Too Icky for NBC to Stand

Bob Costas was swilling his vodka. It was Tuesday morning in NBC's studios in Sochi when Costas, the face of the network's Olympics coverage, clinked glasses with his colleague Mary Carillo. He also pointed to his face.

"My eyes can't get any redder," he said. "Here we go. Down the hatch!"

In the opening minutes of NBC's first broadcast last week, a bespectacled Costas announced he was staring down an eye issue, having woken up with one eye swollen shut by a viral infection. It spread to his other eye for Monday's broadcast. His blurry and sensitive eyes made it impossible for Costas to complete his hosting duties, he said. For now, Matt Lauer will replace Costas on the network's prime-time and late-night Olympics broadcasts, part of a package that cost the network $775 million.

Tuesday would be the first night since 1988 that someone other than Costas hosted NBC's prime-time Olympics show, according to NBC publicists. The network has listed its star anchor as day-to-day, and Costas said he hoped for a quick improvement.

"The last thing I want to do is go through the rest of my life owing Matt Lauer a bunch of favors," Costas said in a news release.

—Ben Cohen

Kelly Clarkson and Kelly Clark Are Two Different People

Snowboarder Kelly Clark
Getty Images

Singer Kelly Clarkson
NBC

Kelly Clark is pretty famous. The American snowboarder is a four-time Winter Olympian with two medals in the women's halfpipe, and she's expected to win another medal in Wednesday's final.

But Clark isn't "American Idol" famous. That explains why it says atop her Wikipedia page: "Not to be confused with Kelly Clarkson." Nonetheless, Clark often is confused with Clarkson—especially on Twitter.

"I would say at least five times a week I get some pretty funny Kelly Clarkson misinterpretations, like, 'I love your music,' or 'Congratulations on getting married!' " Clark said.

Not only do the women have very similar names, they also vaguely resemble each other and are close in age: Clark (Twitter handle @KellyClarkFdn, for her charitable foundation) is 30, a year younger than Clarkson (@Kelly_Clarkson). They also had their breakout performances in 2002: Clarkson won "Idol" and Clark won the Olympic halfpipe gold medal.

One Clarkson fan tweeted: "MUSIC IS LOVE THANK YOU!!" and included Twitter handles of the Dave Matthews Band, U2, the Doobie Brothers … and Kelly Clark.

The snowboarder often gets news of Clarkson milestones first. Last June, a radio station in Raleigh, N.C., tweeted: "@Kellyclarkfdn lost her canary yellow engagement ring! Find out what happened." Clark also learned of Clarkson's pregnancy and the release of her Christmas album.

A spokeswoman for Clarkson said she was unavailable for comment because she was "enjoying time with her new family and preparing for her baby." But of course, Clark already knew that.

—R.B.

IOC Responds to Questions About Gender Differences

The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday tried to address a lingering question: Why so many differences between the men's and women's events at the Winter Games?

Sandrine Tonge, a spokesman for the IOC, told The Wall Street Journal that the Olympic events slate "is established with the active contribution of the international federations and contains similarities and distinctions between the two genders. In cross country and biathlon for example, there are similarities in sprints while traditionally, the long distances are shorter for women."

This is only partly true. The women's sprint Tuesday was 1.3 kilometers, compared with the 1.8-kilometer men's track, a significant relative difference.

Tonge also wrote that the international federations "review the format of their competitions" after each Olympics and that the IOC relies on the federations' expertise to make proposals about any changes to events. She added that the IOC believes it is important that events in the Games correspond to events run by the federations, such as World Cup competitions.

In other words, don't blame the IOC. It is the international federations that set the standard race distances.

—Matthew Futterman

Despite Tuesday's Outcome, Shaun White's Still a Rock Star

It may seem like Shaun White was trying to shed his rock-star image by cutting his famous locks. Turns out, White is actually a real, live rock star.

White is the guitarist for the rock band Bad Things, a quintet that just released its debut album for Warner Bros. Records. So far, at least, the band doesn't appear to be trying too hard to traffic in White's fame as a world-class snowboarder and skateboarder. He appears, stone-faced, in some promotional photos, but some of the band's shots don't even include him.

After he failed to defend his gold medal in the men's halfpipe on Tuesday, White said, "I'm planning to go out and play some music" and that he had "a tour to look forward to."

As for the music, Bad Things has a poppy rock sound with some catchy guitar licks from White. In one of the band's online videos, he can be seen shredding a solo at last year's Lollapalooza in Chicago.